Method of inter-sealing and laying pipe joints



J. J. TETYAK March 10, 1959 METHOD OF INTER- SEALING AND LAYING PIPEJOINTS Filed Oct. 14, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Wk J.

INVENTOR. d. Tea/4k dob/7 lll' March 10, 1959 J. J. TETYAK 7 METHOD OFINTER-SEALING AND LAYING PIPE JOINTS Filed Oct. 14, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet2 w INVENTOR.

(10%? d. 7&73/41? I BY ,4 'TTORNEK United States Patent METHOD OFINTER-SEALING AND LAYING PIPE JOINTS John J. Tetyak, Overland Park,Kans. Application October 14, 1955, Serial No. 540,545

1 Claim. (Cl. 111-5) This invention relates to the art of buildingpipelines and particularly to the laying of pipe sections characterizedby the provision of bell-and-spigot joints interconnecting the sectionsas, for example, in conventional sewer pipe, the prim'ary object beingto provide a method of construction that improves upon common proceduresby virtue of its labor-saving features, speed of advancement, andadvantageous end results.

It is the most important object of the present invention to provide amethod of constructing pipeline which eliminates the laborious andimperfect procedure conventionally employed within the ditch or otherexcavation for sealingthe joints as the pipe sections are laidhorizontally in successive order upon' the bed of the ditch.

Another important object of the instant invention is to provide a methodof the aforementioned character that permits adequate seating of theinterconnected pipe sections within the excavation without danger ofbreaking the joints previously sealed between the sections.

A further object of this invention is to provide a method of laying pipethat facilitates the sealing operation by virtue of the fact that thebell or hub ends of the sections are initially disposed in an upwardlyfacing position whereby the sealing composition may be readily andquickly poured into the bell ends around the spigot ends of nextadjacent sections.

A still further object of the present invention is to utilize in themethod a rigid support to which the sections are initially attached inend-to-end relationship whereby the sections may be held in properrelative positions during the sealing operation and whereby theinterconnected sections may subsequently be laid in the excavationwithout danger of breaking the joints.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide in themethod above described a seating step that embodies the packing of looseaggregate alongside and beneath the interconnected sections within theexcavation through use of a suitable vibrator, and while the sectionsare attached to the support or strong-back so that the joints will notlikely be broken during subsequent covering of the pipeline and groundmovement occasioned by temperature and moisture changes.

In the drawings:

Figure I is a plan view of a vehicle such as a sled employed in thecarrying out of the method of intersealing and laying pipe jointsforming the subject matter of the instant invention illustrating aseries of pipe sections carried thereby in an upright position.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. 1 andillustrating by dotted lines and dash lines, the various positions ofthe pipe sections and the support to which the same are mounted.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional view illustratingthe sealing step forming a part of the method.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the step of lowering theinterconnected sections into an excavation.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view through such excavation showing theinitial aggregate bed upon which the sections are laid.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view through the excavation and the pipesections, as well as the support therefor, showing the aggregate that isadded while the sections are attached to the support.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view through the excavation illustrating theseating step forming a part of the method; and

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the pipe sections completelyembedded and ready for use.

In carrying out the method about to be described, it is contemplatedthat there be provided a suitable mobile vehicle such as a sledillustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings and broadly designated bythe numeral 10. To this end there is provided a pair of runners 12having suitably braced spaced uprights 14 intermediate the ends thereof.

In the initial phases of the method an elongated support or strong-back16, which is advantageously in the nature of an I-bcam, is swingablymounted on the sled 10 through the medium of hinge 18 having a removablepin. It is seen by dotted lines in Fig. 2 the support 16 is initiallyswung to a substantial horizontal position for receiving a plurality ofpipe sections 20 in end-to-end relationship on the uppermost face ofthesupport 16. Sections 20 are of conventional character in that the sameare each provided with enlarged hub or bell ends 22 and spigot ends24'that arereceived by the adjacent bells 22 as'best seen in Fig. 3 ofthe drawings.

Accordingly, when the sections 20 are laid upon the horizontallydisposed support 16, the spigot ends 24 are inserted into adjacent bellends 22, and each section 20 is secured rigidly to the support 16through use of suitable clamps as, for example, one or more straps 26.To the end that the sections 20 are properly aligned and held againstrelative movement, it is to be preferred that support 16 be providedwith a shoe 28 having a semicylindrical concavity 30 for receiving thesections 20, as best seen in Figs. 6 and 7, and preferably provided witha suitable resilient liner 32 engaging the corresponding sections 20.

When the straps 26 are wrapped around the support 16 and the sections20, the support 16 is swung on the hinge 18 to a substantially verticalposition as seen in Figs. l-3, thereby placing the bell ends 22 in anupwardly facing position convenient for carrying out the next step ofthe method, i. e. that of sealing the joints at the ends 22 and 24 ofthe sections 20. Support 16 and sections 20 may be held in the verticalposition through use of a chain or the like 27 on the uprights 14. Suchsealing step may be quite conventional and to this end, a suitableoakum, commonly employed for calking soil pipe and made of jute, jutewaste and carded jute packing, to gether with a large percentage of tar,is inserted into the bell ends 22 around spigot ends 24. Thereupon asuitable sealing compound 36 is poured into the bell ends 22, as shownin Fig. 3 of the drawings.

After the sealing compound 36 has hardened, the support 16 is swung tothe position shown by dash lines in Fig. 2, the hinge pin removed,andlaid upon the ground alongside excavation 38, whereupon, through use ofa tongue 40, the sled 10 may be moved to a new position and a subsequentseries of pipe sections 20 interconnected in the manner just abovedescribed.

Through use of a suitable derrick or the like having a boom 42, theinterconnected sections 20 are lowered into the excavation 38, support16 being provided with suitable eyes or hooks 44 for attaching the sameto the boom 42. The excavation 38 is initially provided with arelatively shallow bed 46 of lightweight aggregate, as seen in Fig. 5,and it is upon this bed 46 that the sections 20 are laid'with thesupport 16 in overlying relationship thereto. Thereupon, additionalaggregate 48 is poured into excavation 38 alongsidethe interconnectedsections 20,, as seen in Fig. 6 of the drawings, following which,through use of a suitable vibrator '50 adapted to straddle the support16 and the interconnected sections 20' as seen in Fig. 7, the aggregate48 is packed tightly against the sections 2G and beneath the latter byvirtue of packing of the bed 46 so as to firmly seat the sections 29 inplace.

The next step in the method consists of removal of the support 16 andthe shoes 28 attached thereto after cutting loose all of the straps 26.

The operation is completed by filling the excavation 38 with dirt 52 inthe usual manner as seen in Fig. 8. It is now seen that except for thesingle operation of interconnecting the series of sections that are laidin end-to-end relationship in the manner shown in Fig. 4, the method maybe carried out in its entirety without the necessity of workmenoperating within the excavation 38. Many advantages arise from followingthe method, including speedy operation, as well as the provision ofproperly sealed joints between all of. the sections that are initiallymounted on the support 16.

In this connection, it is manifest that the oakum 34, as well as thesealing compound 36, may be more easily and more properly placed aroundthe spigot ends 24 within the hubs 22 when the latter are in an uprightposition than has heretofore been the practice within the bottom ofexcavation 38. Furthermore, since the joints are all made prior tolowering of the interconnected sections into the ditch 38, and suchinterconnected sections are held in position by the straps 26, theseating step illustrated in Fig. 7, may be carried out more cf- 4.fectively without danger of, breaking the joints or causing misalignmentof the sections 20.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

A method of constructing a pipeline consisting of a series of pipesections having bell-and-spigot joints interconnecting the same, saidmethod including the steps of swingably mounting an elongated support ona vehicle; attaching the sections to the upper face of the support withthe spigot ends of the sections inserted into the bell ends of adjacentsections; swinging the support to a vertical position with said bellends facing upwardly; placing a calking around the spigot ends withinthe bell ends; swinging the support to an inverted horizontal positionwith said sections depending therefrom; removing the support from thevehicle; lowering the support into an excavation; laying the sections onan aggregate bed in the excavation; packing additional aggregate alongopposite sides of the sections; and removing. the support from thesections and the excavation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS M'cRaeFeb. 17, 1931 Lawrence 'Jan. 5, 1932 OTHER REFERENCES

